


Mrs. Wilde

by Aislinn01



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Mother-Son Relationship, One Shot, Post-Canon, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 13:03:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7893694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aislinn01/pseuds/Aislinn01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being robbed, Mrs. Wilde looks into the mirror in front of which she once dressed up her son for the Junior Ranger Scouts. The lady next door called the Savanna Central police and convinced them to send two officers. But why would Mrs. Wilde worry about stolen jewelry when she would probably never see her son again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mrs. Wilde

It had been a while since I last looked into this mirror, or any mirror. Now I see a red fox nearing sixty with a walking cane and tufts of grey fur on her muzzle and ears. The telephone on the table left and the little chest with my only jewelry are missing. Taken by some burglar last night while I was sleeping downstairs.  
It was my neighbor, the lovely black jaguar that called the police. Typically her, always cheerful and willing to help. While she must be around the same age as me, she still plays tennis twice a week and smiles whenever she looks into a mirror. When I look into this mirror, I only see my son standing before me smiling at his reflection. Ready to go to the Junior Ranger Scouts for the first time. I can still feel his little body next to mine and hear his heartbeat rise in excitement.

 

When she speaks of her son Renato, I can hear the obvious pride in her voice. I can’t blame her, which mother would not speak proud of her son? He drives a limousine in Tundratown and once in a while he picks her up in his fancy car to eat ice cream together. That is another thing she says very often: 

“Ice cream is the world’s happy food.” 

Like ice cream can heal a broken heart or change a life. If everyone’s world was as bright as hers, some ice cream could give me back my son. Listening to her almost makes me jealous. I imagine how my life could be if I still had my Nick, but I listen anyway. As far as she knows, I don’t even have a son. 

They say you can’t turn grey overnight, but I swear I turned grey the evening Nick came back from the Junior Ranger Scouts. His ears were down and I could see he had cried. He did not speak about it, he just locked himself inside his bedroom the way he would later lock his heart. The day after, I saw him in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. Sharp and pointy, just the way fox teeth were supposed to be.  
But his teeth were not what caught my attention. He had bruises and scratches all over his chest and arms. Maybe I should have talked to him, let him know I loved him, or maybe I should have said nothing and just give him a hug. Of all the things I could have done, I silently closed the door and pretended I did not see anything. 

 

I decide to go out for a while. I greet Mrs. Manchas, who is busy in her front yard watering the flowers.

“Good morning Mrs. Wilde! Going to the park again?”

“Yes” I say. “I need some fresh air.”

“Oh, I get it. Of course your house feels a little strange after what happened tonight. I felt so scared the night after a burglar stole half of my furniture. Luckily the police will be here soon.” She shook her head.

The park is eerily quiet. Besides a homeless animal sleeping on a bench, I don’t see anyone. Maybe my Nick slept here too in the nights he refused to come home. In the months after that fatal evening, he began disappearing. First he just did not show up at dinner, then he wandered around town all day and at last he did not come home at all. I had no idea where he was or where he slept.  
When he was home it felt like a thick layer of snow covered our tiny house. Conversations went silent, attempts at affection got shut down, we lived like trees in a forest. So close and yet we never reached each other. Back then I was happy we did not fight, but now I wished we set our house ablaze.  
Every time I yelled at him or told him he was grounded he answered with a smirk and a few sarcastic words, like he did not care. Or maybe he really didn’t care. How would I know? I only know we lost each other because I did the same. I answered his smirk without emotion. I let his words flow through me without giving a reaction.  
Meanwhile every single one of them was like a bullet through my chest.

 

I see my Nick in every red fox I meet. The fox at Mrs. Manchas’s favorite café, the fox that sold Mrs. Manchas and me an apple pie when we visited Bunnyburrow together. It has been more than twenty years since I last saw him and it hurts to know that I would not recognize him.  
Walking towards the ice cream parlor I realize I know my friends son better than my own. Mrs. Manchas told me so much about him that I can easily name his address, favorite coffee, what he likes to watch on TV and of course his favorite ice cream flavor. What would my Nick prefer? Vanilla, strawberry or maybe mint? By now the ice cream parlor opened its doors. It was the fox that changed the sign and placed all the tables on the terrace. I visited this place so many times with Mrs. Manchas I can name all the flavors and tell in which order they are displayed, so I immediately notice the light blue ice cream put in place of the chocolate ice.  
Blueberries. That must be a new flavor.

The world’s happy food. Available in many different sizes and flavors, and according to my friend capable of solving almost everything. Almost everything. What would it take to mend the rift between me and my Nick? A miracle at least, I don’t even know where he is or what he became. He could be a crime boss or a beggar on the street. Or he could be the burglar that has plagued my part of the rainforest district.  
As much as I hate to admit it, I hope he is still walking around with that smirk on his face, because that would mean he is not dead. On the other side of the road I see a red fox and a bunny, both in police uniforms. I wonder if they are the officers from Savanna Central while I gaze at the fox. I watch as he walks towards the police cruiser parked at the end of the street. A Starbucks coffee in one paw and his other paw wrapped around the waist of the bunny, who did not seem to mind at all.

 

In the afternoon, I find myself having tea at Mrs. Manchas’s house while discussing the weather. The doorbell rings and she jumps up to open the door. She looks so young. If I would not have any worse things to worry about I would envy her. 

“I’m officer Hopps, ZPD and my partner. May we come inside to talk about the robberies?” I heard a little voice say. That officer could not be larger than me.

“Of course, my neighbor is here too, is that be a problem? I would feel bad if I need to tell her to leave.” Mrs. Manchas answers.

“That is no problem miss. If my case file is right, she was robbed recently as well so she might have some extra information for us.” It was the little voice speaking again.  
When they walk into the living room I see the bunny and the fox from this morning and deduce that the little voice is from the bunny. 

“Please sit down, could I offer you some tea or coffee?” Mrs. Manchas asks.

“No need for that miss, we have only a few questions.” Says the bunny officer.

“But I could use some caffeine, The last coffee I had was this morning.” The fox says while looking at the rabbit like she just wronged him. He wants to say something else but the angry gaze from the bunny makes him shut his mouth.

“Forgive my partner.” The bunny awkwardly smiles. “Officer Wilde did not mean to say anything.”

Wilde. The bunny continues to apologize but I stop listening. The fox is named Wilde. I watch him closely as he takes a seat. I see a tall, lean body, red fur, pointy ears and green eyes with a mischievous spark inside and my mind almost automatically fills in the gaps. He gives the bunny a little nudge with his paw and in return she gives him an obviously fake angry look. I see how he listens closely while the bunny asks Mrs. Manchas her routine questions.

“I don’t know about tonight, you should ask Mrs. Wilde that.” Mrs. Manchas says while giving an apologetic shrug. 

I snap out of my daydream state and for one moment my eyes meet the fox’s and we both ask the same silent question. Are you real?  
It is the bunny that understands the situation first. With a wave of her paw and a few words she directs us to into the hallway, leaving Mrs. Manchas alone in the living room.

“Is it really you?” I ask softly. What if this fox just happened to be named Wilde as well?

He does not respond at first and it is the bunny that makes him talk. “Nick, don’t you have anything to say?”

He did not. He just stepped forward and hugged me. I wrap my arms around his slim waist and pull him closer. It really is him. For the first time since that evening I feel my heart flutter again. He is not dead nor a criminal. It is the bunny that makes me let go of him. While she tries her best to become invisible I can feel her watching us. It is not a negative thing, absolutely not, but I let him go anyway. Her eyes are filled with pride, as if she too is proud of that fact that Nick is a police officer. When are both done drying our tears her story explains why. The bunny tells that Nick was a charming con-artist until she got him to help her with a police case. A con-artist. Thinking about his smirk, it almost makes me laugh. 

“I’m very sorry Mrs. Wilde, but we need to go. There are other animals we need to talk to, but we will visit you tonight so you and Nick can talk.” The bunny says after a while. Speechless, Nick can only nod.

When they walk out the door I imagine how in the world that rabbit could have changed Nick into a police officer. She must be some bunny.  
“Excuse me!” I call out just before she closes the door. “I don’t even know your name. And that while I owe you so much for helping Nick get this far. How did you do that?” 

Then I realize they are in a hurry. “It’s probably a long story, so you can tell me another time as well.” I cannot wait to hear, actually. I’m just dying to know what this rabbit did that I could not.

“I’m Judy Hopps.” She says with a smile. “And the story is not that long, I just bought him a giant popsicle.” 

Nick winks at her. They both know what she meant with that and it sure must be something special. Then they turn around and leave. I keep staring at the door until I can’t hear the wheels of their police cruiser anymore. Then I turn around and open the door to the living room where Mrs. Manchas is still sitting in her chair.

 

“I owe you an apology. You were right.” I say to her with new tears in my eyes. “Ice cream is the world’s happy food, ánd capable of solving almost everything.”


End file.
